But amongst the Jews, those who were admitted to perform the office of Priest were always anointed and baptized; and, as Jesus came to be our great High Priest, it was necessary that He should observe this form, as He had undergone the rite of circumcision. He came to fulfil all righteousness, to do all that was right, and then to suffer punishment, as if He had been sinful instead of sinless. To make atonement for the sin of man, it was necessary that He Who made it, should obey and fulfil perfectly the whole Will of God, and then suffer, "the just for the unjust." Only so could atonement be made: this Jesus explained to John, and then the Baptist no longer hesitated to baptize with water the sinless Son of God. Chapter VI.--JESUS TEMPTED OF THE DEVIL "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: and, lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." The Three Persons in the Holy Trinity were thus at once made manifest, or shown to John the Baptist: before Him, under the form of Man, stood God the Son: God the Holy Ghost came down from heaven in a bodily form, with a gentle motion like that of a dove, and rested upon the Son of God: God the Father was not made visible to the eyes, but His voice was heard, declaring Jesus to be His Son, the promised Messiah, the Saviour of the world. After His baptism, Jesus was, by the appointment of His Father, "led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil." It was necessary that Jesus should gain a victory over the great enemy of mankind, and show that the Devil had no power to lead Him to do evil. Since Adam fell, no human being had ever so completely resisted the Devil as to _deserve_ the favour of God; thus no one had ever earned eternal life even for himself. Jesus came to make atonement for the sin of countless millions: but He could not have made satisfaction for the sins of others, if He had in the least thing given way to the Devil. Therefore He must fight and conquer, or the work which He came to do must have remained for ever undone.